Reflection for Monday, 2nd Day of Christmas 

By

Fr. Aloysius Santiago sdb
Director, Social Action Movement, Don Bosco Bidar 

Feast of St. Stephen, the proto- Martyr 


Today's WORD of GOD 

Matthew 10: 17 - 22 

Be on your guard; you will be handed over to the local councils and be flogged in the synagogues. On my account you will be brought before governors and kings as witnesses to them and to the Gentiles. But when they arrest you, do not worry about what to say or how to say it. At that time you will be given what to say, for it will not be you speaking, but the Spirit of your Father speaking through you. 

“Brother will betray brother to death, and a father his child; children will rebel against their parents and have them put to death.  

You will be hated by everyone because of me, but the one who stands firm to the end will be saved. 


Meditation on the Word of God 

Stephen’s Prayer of Forgiveness

When, Centuries Before, the Priest Zachariah was Put to Death by Stoning, His Last Words were a Shouted Curse, “May the LORD See This & Avenge Me!” (2 Chr. 24: 22) Contrast this with the Dying Words of Saint Stephen: “LORD, Do Not Charge Them with This Sin.” 

The Old Testament “Eye for an Eye” We can Readily Understand, since Crimes of Violence & Injustice Cry Out to Heaven for Vengeance. 

In Light of the Injustice Done to Him, We can only be Amazed by Stephen’s Final Words, Praying to GOD to Pardon His Killers. His Crime was to have Spoken some Hard Truths that His Audience Did Not Want to Hear. As a Result, the Frenzied Mob Put Him to Death by Stoning. 

How Do We Get from Zachariah’s “May GOD Punish Them!” to Stephen’s “LORD Forgive Them” ? What or rather Who has Made the Difference? 

The One who Speaks in Today’s Gospel, JESUS HIMSELF. HE had Foretold that Those Sent Out to Spread HIS Message would be Rejected & Chased from One Town to Another & that Some would be Killed. One would Expect HIS Next Words to be Words of Woe to the Killers. Instead, They are Words of Divine Mercy: “Jerusalem, Jerusalem, the City that Kills the Prophets & Stones Those who are Sent to It! How often would I have Gathered Your Children Together as a Hen Gathers Her Chicks Under Her Wings.”

Yesterday We Celebrated the Joyful Birth of a Child. Today We Honour the Martyrdom of an Innocent Man. 

Stephen was Martyred for Witnessing to JESUS, for Publicly Calling HIM the Glorious Son of Man, Now Standing at the Right Hand of GOD. 

Luke Describes Stephen Dying with two Prayers on His Lips, 

First, a Prayer of Surrender, 

“LORD, JESUS, Receive My Spirit,” & second a Prayer of Petition for His Executioners, “LORD, Do Not Hold This Sin Against Them.”

Already, Luke had Described JESUS HIMSELF as Dying with two Similar Prayers on HIS Lips, 

a Prayer of Surrender, “FATHER, into Your Hands I Commend My Spirit” & 

a Prayer for HIS Executioners, “FATHER, Forgive Them for They Know Not what They are Doing.” 

Whereas JESUS Prays to the FATHER, Stephen Prays to the Risen LORD JESUS. Mary’s Child is Now Risen LORD & can be Prayed to as We would Pray to GOD.

Stephen Died as JESUS Died because, in the Words of the Reading, He was “Filled with the HOLY SPIRIT.” 

We have been Given the Gift of the Same HOLY SPIRIT, & It is the SPIRIT who Empowers Us Both to Live like JESUS  to Die like JESUS. 

On This Feast of Saint Stephen, We Pray for a Fresh Outpouring of that SPIRIT into Our Lives.

Good morning

Have an awesome day and a fabulous week ahead.

Happy feast of St.  Stephen, the first Martyr.